Synopsis

In the bestselling tradition of espionage novels by John LeCarre and Alan Furst, Istanbul Passage brilliantly illustrates why Edgar Award–winning author Joseph Kanon has been hailed as "the heir apparent to Graham Greene" (The Boston Globe).

Istanbul survived the Second World War as a magnet for refugees and spies. Even expatriate American Leon Bauer was drawn into this shadow world, doing undercover odd jobs in support of the Allied war effort. Now as the espionage community begins to pack up and an apprehensive city prepares for the grim realities of postwar life, Leon is given one last routine assignment. But when the job goes fatally wrong—an exchange of gunfire, a body left in the street, and a potential war criminal on his hands—Leon is trapped in a tangle of shifting loyalties and moral uncertainty.

Played out against the bazaars and mosques and faded mansions of this knowing, ancient Ottoman city, Istanbul Passage is the unforgettable story of a man swept up in the dawn of the Cold War, of an unexpected love affair, and of a city as deceptive as the calm surface waters of the Bosphorus that divides it.

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CUSTOMER REVIEWS

Istanbul Passage

Average rating

4 / 5

2of2 people found this helpful

March 17th, 2014

The story started a bit slow for me, but picked up fairly soon. I enjoy European spy mysteries, so I knew if I just hung in there it would work. The whole setting made for a great story and the characters fit the scene. It was not a story you figured out early and just read because you'd bought the book. The subtle twist kept me interested to the very end and I found myself picturing them with little effort and keeping all the players in my mind. I hope you too feel the same and enjoy this book. I will definitely buy another Joseph Kanon novel.